Local Government.

Parish government in
the Middle Ages was conducted through the threeweekly courts for Moreton, North Weston, Old
Thame, and Priestend respectively, and through the
fortnightly portmanmoot for New Thame. Views
of frankpledge at which each township was represented by its own tithing-men were held monthly.
Immediately above these courts was the hundred
court of the Bishop of Lincoln for the hundred of
Thame. All were subject to the bishop's officers, and
the sheriff's officers were excluded as the bishop had
return of writs, pleas de vetito namii, and the assize
of bread and ale. (fn. 1) The bishop also had a prison at
Thame. (fn. 2)

A few rolls survive of the manorial courts or
'halimots'. (fn. 3) Among the offences reported are the
usual ones of unrepaired houses, unscoured ditches,
and trespass in 'separate' pastures. On one occasion
a licence to marry a widow was obtained for 6s. 8d.
In the reign of Henry VI nativi living outside the
manor were reported on several occasions. (fn. 4)

New Thame began and remained a seignorial
borough (fn. 5) and never acquired any corporate privileges. Its chief officer in the medieval period was the
Bishop of Lincoln's bailiff, apparently appointed by
him. (fn. 6) By the 15th century, if not earlier, there were
two bailiffs and two under bailiffs. (fn. 7) New Thame
was divided into four quarters and the tithing-men
for each quarter made presentments at the view of
frankpledge. At the great view on St. Luke's Day
(18 Oct.) the bailiff, and sometimes other officers,
presented those who had broken the assizes. On one
occasion as many as 82 men and women were presented for breaches of the assize of ale, (fn. 8) on another
occasion 63, and 10 for breaches of the assize of
bread, 16 for selling meat above price and 5 innkeepers for the same. Seven cobblers, 4 bakers, and
4 chandlers were also presented for overcharging. (fn. 9)
In addition to these common offences, nuisances on
the highway and cases of assault, sometimes with
dagger or lance, were presented. The highest total
amount received at any view was 73s. 4d. in 1436. (fn. 10)
This total included fines and a sum known as 'St.
Luke's pennies', so named after the day on which
the court was held. These pence were paid by some
burgesses (1d. each) for the right to merchandise for
a year without payment of toll. The numbers paying
fluctuated from year to year and sums received varied
between 5s. 7d. in 1439 and 1s. 8d. in 1472. (fn. 11) Among
the suitors of the court who made default in their
suit were often to be found the abbots of Thame and
Notley, the Vicar of Thame, and local gentry such
as the Marmions and these too were among those
who paid Luke's pence. As in other town courts the
inhabitants were commonly presented for raising the
hue unjustly, and for allowing unringed pigs to
wander in the streets. But the most common presentments were for throwing putrid offal from shops
into the streets, for selling bread underweight, for
exposing bad meat for sale, and breaking the assize
of ale. Bakers, victuallers, and fishmongers in the
north quarter figure particularly prominently. (fn. 12) In
Henry VII's reign there first appears the presentment of a man for allowing common players of
cards and other illicit games to play contrary to
the statute and another was presented for keeping
suspected men and women in his house. (fn. 13) As at the
view of frankpledge the tithing-men of each of the
four quarters made presentments. The fortnightly
portmanmoot court was competent to hear pleas of
detinue, trespass, and breach of contract, but the
great majority of pleas recorded on the rolls are for
debt. (fn. 14) The slowness and cumbersomeness of the
procedure may be seen in a court of 1433. One case
concerned a debt for woollen cloth bought three
years previously and another for russet cloth bought
nine years previously. (fn. 15)

Pleas about tenements do not occur as a rule.
These were heard before the royal justices, but on
one occasion a fine was paid for permission to
acquire more land in the town to enlarge a burgage
tenement. The new tenant made fidelity to the
bishop and was admitted tenant according to 'the
custom of the borough'. She was to hold for ever at
a rent of 2d. a year. (fn. 16) As the burgess had the important right of being able to devise as well as sell his
burgage freely disputes over burgage property must
have arisen frequently. (fn. 17) Disputes over wills would
have been heard in the peculiar court. (fn. 18)

A change in procedure had been introduced by
Henry VII's reign, which suggests that autocratic
control of the town was increasing. The tithing-man
for each quarter now presented in company with a
burgess. The business of the court, however, was
much reduced and courts appear to have been held
less frequently. At a court of 17 May 1503 fines
amounted to 6d. only compared with sums of round
3s. commonly received in the reign of Henry VI, and
no court after this one was held until 22 July. (fn. 19) There
is nothing about burgess customary law in the surviving rolls except for one archaic survival. Burgesses
often cleared themselves of a charge of debt by resorting to the method of compurgation. There are
many cases of a burgess waging his law six-handed
or four-handed—i.e. supported by the oaths of five
or three of his neighbours. (fn. 20)

No 16th-century portmanmoot records have survived, and it is therefore uncertain when the court
finally came to an end, but it is likely that it coincided
with the break up of the bishop's manor in 1559. (fn. 21)

Town affairs like those of the parish as a whole were
now being largely conducted in the vestry. There the
churchwardens were elected and overseers of the
poor nominated. In 1560 there is a record of 'highways men' being chosen 'following the consent of
the parishioners'. (fn. 22) Three were chosen for New
Thame and one each for Old Thame, Priestend, and
Moreton. The churchwardens' accounts for this
period reveal that their business was not always confined to church affairs. The wardens were usually
among the leading men of the town and were also
the holders of civil office. It is therefore not surprising to find the warden paying 5s. in 1543 for
having the moot-hall clock mended, or that they
should have later used the proceeds derived from the
sale of church goods for the paving of the town. (fn. 23)

Despite the growing importance of the vestry,
however, view of frankpledge courts and manorial
courts continued to be held by the bishop's successors
to the lordship of the 'liberties'. Some records of
courts baron for Old Thame, Priestend, North
Weston, and Moreton have survived. (fn. 24) Their main
business was the admission of tenants but from time
to time they made regulations about the management
of the open fields and officers such as fieldsmen,
hogsherds, haywards, and mole-catchers were appointed. Records of the view of frankpledge for New
Thame or rather for 'New Thame cum membris', as
the title had become, also exist for the 17th century.
The court, apart from enforcing the tithing system,
was mainly concerned with the upkeep of the roads,
and the enforcement of sanitary rules about the
streets and market-place. At the October court for
1649 nineteen jurors headed by Robert Robotham,
an important burgess, and John Bennett were listed.
Presentments included killing bulls unbaited (the
offenders were mostly men from neighbouring villages), bloodshed, killing sheep and calves in the
shambles contrary to the regulations, and emptying
paunches in the shambles. The court ordered also
that no inhabitant of New Thame should erect any
new tenement or take any inmate into his house
unless the landlord was prepared to guarantee the
parish against any consequent expense. (fn. 25) At this and
other views of this period it was repeatedly ordered
by the courts that no stalls or booths should be
placed on Market Hill, but only on the south-west
side beginning from 'the end of the stocks' next the
'Lion' up to the corner of Mr. Powell's house. (fn. 26)

The town officers were elected at the October
courts. They appear to have varied and the explanation may be that some were not annual appointments. In 1676 there were 2 sealers of leather, 2
constables, 4 tithing-men, 2 ale-tasters, 2 fleshtasters, and 2 scavengers. (fn. 27) Officers were also elected
to the liberties; at Old Thame court, for example, in
1608 2 scourers of watercourses, 2 meat-tasters, and
4 tithing-men were elected. (fn. 28)

Throughout the 18th century and into the 19th
the churchwardens, overseers of the poor, the surveyors of highways, and the constables continued to
be the main parish officers acting through the vestry. (fn. 29)
The first big change took place in 1835 when the
Thame Poor Law Union and Board of Guardians
came into being. (fn. 30) Although with the decline of the
manorial courts, the liberties of New Thame, Old
Thame, Priestend, and Moreton practically ceased
to be units of local government, separate overseers
and waywardens for each continued to be responsible for registration of births, marriages, and deaths,
vaccination, poor-rate assessment, and sanitation. (fn. 31)
In 1858–9 the parish officers were 2 churchwardens,
3 guardians, 6 overseers (Thame 4, Priestend 2), 10
surveyors (New Thame 2, Old Thame 2, Moreton 2,
Priestend 2, Thame Park 1, North Weston 1), 2
petty constables, and 1 high constable. (fn. 32)

After the adoption in 1871 of the Local Government Act of 1858 the Local Board was set up and
became automatically the Urban District Council in
1894. (fn. 33) Step by step the U.D.C. acquired the full
powers of the parish council. Thus in November
1895 it was given power by the Local Government
Board to appoint and revoke the appointment of
Assistant Overseers and in March 1896 it was
allowed to appoint two trustees for the non-ecclesiastical portion of the Thame charities. (fn. 34) The council
numbered fifteen, five members retiring each year.
Of the first council five were farmers, four were in
trade, and three were professional men. T. S. Sutton, a grocer, was the first chairman and was chairman again four times in the next six years. Henry
Birch was chairman from 1878 to 1882 and Samuel
Lacey from 1887 to 1893. (fn. 35) Later it became the
custom for the chair to be taken by seniority.

Throughout the century the chief concern of the
local authorities was the care of the poor; in the
second half of the century sanitation became a major
consideration, and also the maintenance of the highways and housing.

Poor Relief.
The foundation of the Quatremain
almshouses, (fn. 36) and the many payments for the support of the poor and sick entered in the churchwardens' accounts are evidence for the care taken of
the poor in the medieval period. (fn. 37) The Elizabethan
Poor Law Act of 1601, however, opened a new era in
poor relief. Eleven leaves of Thame's first rate-book
survive. They cover two months in 1604 and six in
1609. There were between 80 and 90 ratepayers paying 2d. to 1s. a month. Total receipts averaged 35s.
to 36s., but usually 16 or more persons were behind
with their payments. The number of persons receiving relief, which averaged nearly 3½d. a person a
week, varied from 28 to 33. The total expended for
the year was £23 or £24. (fn. 38)

Voluntary bequests for the relief of the poor continued to be made alongside the official relief. They
included seven cottages to be used as poor houses
and to be administered by the churchwardens and
also funds to provide clothing. (fn. 39) With the building
of the County House of Correction in 1720, completed after a bequest of £250 from Francis Clerke
of North Weston, (fn. 40) a notable advance was made in
dealing with the problem of the able-bodied poor. In
1723, however, the churchwardens and inhabitants
of Thame complained that the keeper had ceased
to employ the poor and in 1726 £100 was spent in
converting part of the House of Correction into a
workhouse. (fn. 41) In 1733 the churchwardens petitioned
the court again. They charged the deputy keeper of
the House of Correction with allowing the prisoners
to go at large, letting part of the prison to lodgers,
and with other offences. The keeper had lived at
Aylesbury for the past three years. (fn. 42) As a result of
this complaint the master of the workhouse was appointed keeper of the bridewell also. (fn. 43) The workhouse management was 'contracted out' to a 'sober
person' who undertook to employ the poor in spinning and other work. (fn. 44)

In 1776 a determined effort was made to put the
care of the poor on a sound basis. Articles of agreement were drawn up between the churchwardens,
the four overseers, and twelve inspectors, including
the vestry clerk and the keeper of the bridewell:
churchwardens and overseers could individually
commit to the workhouse but the case was later to
come before a full meeting; any person who could
contribute to the poor rate could inspect the workhouse and the inmates might lay complaints; the
keeper was to be fined 20s. for each case of neglect
substantiated before the committee. He was to provide all clothes, schooling for the children, and pay
rents, &c. for the poor living outside. He was also
to pay all incidental expenses connected with poor
strangers except any legal expenses and the cost of
their removal. His salary was to be £480 a year and
he was to have all the profits arising from work done
in the workhouse. Apprenticeships were to be approved by a committee, who allowed an extra 20s.
for clothing for each apprentice put out to work. In
cases of smallpox the keeper was to provide for 15
inmates only. (fn. 45)

In 1776 £666 was expended on the poor, £26 on
the rent of the workhouse, which accommodated 30
and was now said to be too small, and £14 on litigation and resettlement of paupers. (fn. 46) When the new
bridewell at Oxford was opened in 1787 the justices closed the Thame one and put it up for sale in
1788. (fn. 47) It was bought by the parish for a workhouse
in 1790. (fn. 48)

By 1803 the problem of poor relief had increased
alarmingly: £3,762 was raised by a rate of 11s. 6d. in
the £ but £4,413 had been expended. The Speenhamland system was in use and 260 persons were
given out-relief and 56 in-door relief. In addition to
these permanent paupers and their families 140 persons received occasional relief. (fn. 49) The population of
Thame in 1801 was 2,293. (fn. 50)

The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 was
adopted by Thame in 1835 and the first meeting
of the guardians took place in September 1835. (fn. 51)
Under the Act Thame became one of the three districts of the newly established Poor Law Union
which consisted of 27 Oxfordshire and 8 Buckinghamshire parishes. The Thame district comprised
Thame, Tetsworth, Emmington, Aston Rowant
and Kingston Blount, Sydenham, and Towersey
(Bucks.). The population of Thame at that time was
2,885 and that of Thame Union 5,243. (fn. 52) The guardians were mainly occupied in their first year of office
with the plans for the new workhouse. It was built
on ground adjoining the Prebendal at a total cost of
£8,871. It was to have accommodation for 350 but at
first be furnished for about 235. (fn. 53) The total cost of
the workhouse was £11,438. Between 1840 and 1881
a number of improvements were made. These included the separation of the male and female infirmary wards and the conversion of part of one wing
into a chapel. (fn. 54)

The guardians showed marked generosity and
humane consideration for the personal dignity and
material welfare of those needing relief and for the
officers of the institution. For the first Master and
Matron they proposed a joint salary of £150, but the
Poor Law Commissioners thought this too high.
£110 was fixed. In August 1838 it was resolved that
allowances to paupers receiving or entitled to relief
should be determined according to the circumstances
of each case without reference to existing allowances,
and the allowance to aged and infirm paupers and
widows was increased by 6d. a head a week; in
November 1838 the guardians represented to the
Poor Law Commission that the price of bread in their
Union was 19½d. an 8 lb. 11 oz. loaf, while the general
price of labour was 9s. 8d. a week and they requested
an order as to the manner in which poor industrious
labourers in employment, with large families, were to
be dealt with under existing conditions. (fn. 55) In August
1840 they requested that the Local Government
Board should allow them to take into the workhouse
parts of large families of able-bodied labourers whose
earnings were insufficient for supporting their
families; but this was regarded by the Board as not
being in the best interests of the Union. Women
were not to be forced to wear their hair short and
inmates were to be free from any distinguishing
mark outside the workhouse. The original dietary
was improved, women were instructed in knitting,
and children's schooling was advanced. (fn. 56)

The suitable employment of able-bodied paupers
was all along one of the greatest problems. In accordance with the advice of the Assistant Poor Law Commissioner a mill for grinding corn was adopted, but
for six years oakum picking, also advised, was repeatedly rejected as unhealthy and demoralizing. At
last in 1843 it was agreed that able-bodied men should
pick 4 lb. of oakum a day and women, for whom no
other work could be found, 2 lb. a day. (fn. 57)

The extent of the problem in the 1830's and
1840's may be gauged from the following figures.
During the first quarter of 1836, before the new
workhouse was built, there were permanently relieved
116 aged and infirm, orphans and bastards from
Thame itself and 214 from the rest of Thame Union.
During the last quarter of 1836 when the new workhouse came into use there were 23 inmates from
Thame and 93 from the rest of the district, but by
1838 numbers had risen to 156 and 380 respectively.
In 1847 accommodation was provided for an additional 40 and 410 became the official limit. The next
year was the most critical. On 5 January there were
398 inmates and the guardians reported there would
soon be more applicants than they were empowered
to receive. A number of special measures were
adopted and parishes were empowered to establish
Emigration Funds, Thame itself being sanctioned to
raise £50. In July the guardians began to meet fortnightly instead of weekly and by February 1849 the
number of inmates had fallen to 260. (fn. 58) The Census of
1851 recorded that out of a total of 201 inmates 56
paupers were from Thame and of these only 21 were
adult. The adult paupers for the district were drawn
almost entirely from three classes of workers: agricultural labourers (58), lacemakers (20), and servants
(20). There were five resident staff in the House. (fn. 59)

The relief of vagrants in the 1840's threatened the
efficient conduct of the House and was considered by
the guardians to be unjust to the rate-payers, particularly to the Thame rate-payers. No vagrants
were relieved before 1841, but in that year the Local
Government Board suggested that they be taken in
and kept 'six hours next day in working time'. Consequently 961 were relieved in 1844 and numbers
had risen by 1847 to 2,790. The Thame guardians
accordingly urged that more stringent rules and
regulations on 'this important subject' should be
adopted. They also made between 1850 and 1853
many strong references to the depressed state of
agriculture in the district and the difficulties of ratepayers in meeting expenses. They finally drew up a
petition to both Houses of Parliament arguing that
present local burdens pressed with undue severity on
agricultural interests. (fn. 60)

In the second half of the century the workhouse
was apparently well administered and the inmates
were well conducted. In 1856 Henry Gibbons of
Thame, himself a guardian, inspected the workhouse and commented on it favourably in his diary. (fn. 61)
In 1897 the Local Government Board inspector
criticized the out-relief policy, observing that 1 in 18
received relief at Thame compared with 1 in 29 in
Buckinghamshire, 1 in 28 in Oxfordshire as a whole,
and 1 in 28 throughout England. It was answered on
behalf of the Thame Guardians that Thame was an
agricultural district and had no 'residential' population, and that relief was administered in as kindly a
spirit as possible. (fn. 62)

The changed pattern of Poor Relief brought about
by pensions, national insurance, and labour exchanges resulted in the abolition of the Unions and
of the closing of Thame workhouse in 1935. (fn. 63) The
functions of the guardians relating to poor relief
passed to Public Assistance Committees set up by
county and borough councils.

Highways, Streets, and Lighting. The first
evidence for any steps to deal with the paving of
the town occurs in 1550 after the Highways Act of
Edward VI, when part of the money realized from
the sale of church goods was used by the churchwardens and 'other honest men' for this purpose.
They spent £37 13s. 3d. in 1550 on paving the
market-place round the market cross and in making
a new causeway at Town's End. In the next year the
wardens spent £48 17s. 2d. for digging and carting
stone and gravel, possibly for the roads, and over £3
on paving the space round the common well. Over
£33 was spent by the warden of Old Thame on
materials and labour for the highway from Crendon
Bridge past the Vicarage and up the lane by John
Stribblehill's door (the present Thame-Long Crendon road). The highways from Priestend Elm 'along
the street by Etherigg's' (the present Lower High
Street presumably), and so through 'Alyn's lane'
(Southern Road) were also paved. In 1552 the way at
Town's End towards London was mended for 10s. (fn. 64)
Lee states that the work continued and that a total of
at least £120 was spent by 1560. (fn. 65)

The 'highways men' or waywardens of the liberties
came under the control of the Bullingdon Highway
Board in 1862, but the town waywardens remained
under the vestry until 1871, when the Thame Board
of Health was instituted and took over the care of
the roads. (fn. 66) The board was itself superseded by the
Urban District Council in 1894. (fn. 67) At first the council
was anxious to retain responsibility for all roads, but
expense led them to ask the County to define as
much road as possible as 'main' road so that it might
become the County's responsibility. The Kingsey
limestone pit was finally closed in 1890 and thenceforward flints and granite were regularly imported
for road-making, and in 1894 steam rolling was first
used. The stone sets of the High Street pavements
were replaced with Victoria stone in 1888 and the
north side of Upper High Street was finished in 1890
by S. Lacey at his own expense. The removal of the
cattle market to North Street in 1951 was followed
by the transference of the traders' stalls from Cornmarket to the old cattle market. (fn. 68)

The streets were first lit by gas in 1842, but this
must have been an experiment for it was not until
1849, when W. Jacques persuaded 'the respectable
inhabitants' to agree to a 2d. rate to defray the cost,
that the lighting became permanent. (fn. 69) Electricity
was introduced in 1926 being taken in bulk from
Aylesbury at the Thame boundary. (fn. 70) The town had
already been linked with Aylesbury trunk telephone in 1909. (fn. 71)

Sanitation.
The surviving 17th-century rolls of
the view of frankpledge for New Thame show that
the court's main business was the enforcement of
sanitary regulations. (fn. 72)

Regulations about keeping the streets clean and
free of obstacles were strict. Any inhabitant who had
been warned by the scavengers to put in order the
gutter running from his house to the main channels
must do so before mid-summer on pain of a fine of
£5 10s. This order, however, was made at an October
court. Each house-owner was to mend the part of the
main water-course in the middle of the street which
was before his own house, cleanse the gutters and
keep clean the ground between his house and the
main water-course; no one was to allow any dunghills, heaps of stones or timber, &c. to be on the
street above ten days; everyone dwelling in Sheep
and Hog streets was to move dirt from his door every
Wednesday; no garbage or entrails were to be
emptied into the street; no one was to winnow any
grain in the main street, and no one was to dig gravel
in the highway at Town's End any nearer the town
than the existing pits. The scavengers were to give
warning every ten days about clearing the streets.
The market cross was to be cleaned every week; no
one was to throw filth into either of the two ponds
at Town's End (Whitehound's Pond and Butts
Pond) or in the ditches in Rookes Lane or adjoining
ditches. Another court ordered that no skins or
other noisome objects should be left on 'the kerb or
on the common pump' in the shambles.

Modern advances in public sanitation were not introduced at Thame until after the adoption of the
Local Government Act of 1858. This was the outcome of a medical report by Dr. Buchanan of the
Privy Council Medical Department and the violent
local controversy which followed. (fn. 73)

In 1871 there were 16 deaths from scarlatina and
Dr. Lee of Thame called in Dr. Buchanan. The
latter found scarlatina decreasing, but reported most
scathingly upon the sanitation of the town: there was
no place either at the workhouse or elsewhere to
which contagious sickness could be removed and
there was almost no sanitary government in Thame.
The guardians of the Thame Union, as the nuisance
authority, employed relieving officers as sanitary inspectors, and they had from time to time dealt with
such nuisances as were brought to their notice, but
the power to disinfect vested in the guardians had
not been used. By the Sewage Utilization Act 1868
the vestry was the sewer authority of the town, but
there were no sewers, no provision for excrement or
refuse removal, and all manner of nuisances arose
from want of these. Dr. Buchanan made many inquiries; but of those questioned 'none had heard of
a vestry'; furthermore, the vicar was ill and could
not be seen, and the parish clerk could not be discovered. (fn. 74)

Down both sides of the broad main street and in
some bystreets ran roughly constructed open gutters,
which received all manner of liquid house slop and
other filth, notably washings from slaughter houses
near the market. The gullies led into various ditches
some of which ran into the Thame but most were
stagnant. The middle 30 ft. of the main street was
under the jurisdiction of the Highway Board, but the
channels were vested in the waywardens who appeared to have no power of regulating what should
enter into them. Dr. Buchanan concluded that unless
the inhabitants speedily made a beginning of proper
sanitary government it would be necessary to ask the
Secretary of State to compel them.

In defence of the town Dr. Reynolds of Thame
maintained that the health of the town was better
than that of any other of equal size in the kingdom
and if drainage was so imperfect typhoid would have
resulted. Letters appeared in The Lancet and Public
Opinion.

The Local Board of Health, just elected, ordered
wells to be cleaned, and some to be covered and
fitted with pumps. (fn. 75) In one month 89 notices to
abate nuisances were served, 36 complied with and
legal proceedings ordered against defaulters. But the
Local Government Board wanted a proper system
of sewers and a careful examination of the watersupply. These projects were delayed until 1893–5
when the Local Government Board and the Thames
Conservancy threatened penalties for river pollution.
Catch-pits at Cuttlebrook Ford proved so inadequate
that under-draining with a sewage farm and pumping station had to be adopted. In 1898 Messrs.
Taylor & Sons drew up the scheme, which cost
£7,271, and John Jackson of Plaistow did the work.
By 1900 the pumping machinery was installed and
most of the houses were connected with the sewers.
But a new difficulty arose—rain water failed to flush
the sewers and distribute the sewage over the farm.
A new water-supply had to be provided. (fn. 76)

Waterworks. Apart from the flushing of the
sewers the quality of the drinking water had long
caused anxiety because it was obtained from some
150 shallow wells, 10–30 ft. deep and easily contaminated. The first boring at Horsenden Hill which
would give sufficient fall without the use of a watertower failed to tap the Lower Greensand. A second
boring to reach the Portland Beds along the Kingsey
Road found a plentiful supply of uncontaminated
water of moderate hardness at Pillmore Arch in
Towersey (Bucks.), and a water tower, holding
60,000 gallons, was built off Park Street in 1905.
Public pumps were then removed. (fn. 77)

Fire Service. An adequate water-supply solved
the chief Fire Service difficulty. The first fire-engine
had been provided in 1817 by public subscription, (fn. 78)
but not until 1878 was a proper brigade formed under
H. H. Smith. This was voluntary, but the Town
Surveyor took charge and council employees were
expected to assist when the voluntary force, for any
reason, was not available. (fn. 79) In 1881 the brigade won
first prize in competition at Aylesbury. (fn. 80)

To provide enough water the open drains at the
sides of the High Street were dammed with boards
specially kept at the engine-house and the pumps in
the houses were worked until enough water had
accumulated. By 1880 an underground drain had
been made from the Whitehound Pond to a storage
tank at the junction of Upper High Street and North
Street. (fn. 81) The modern fire station at Nelson Street was
built in 1937. (fn. 82)

Market Authority. The council's desire to become the market authority was closely connected
with the sanitation of the town. As early as 1881 the
council had unsuccessfully tried to obtain a lease of
the tolls from Lord Abingdon so that it could control
the Market, (fn. 83) but it was only in 1927 that Lord Bertie
sold the market rights to the council for £1,000. (fn. 84)

The acquisition of the market rights meant that
the council could levy a toll for the sale of goods and
charge stallage for the erection of stalls. (fn. 85) In 1760 the
tolls were leased by the Earl of Abingdon for £25 16s.
and this was still their value in 1899. (fn. 86) In 1935 the
Urban District Council extended the right to charge
stallage to the parking of motor-cars in the market
place on market days. (fn. 87)

In 1939 the decision was taken to remove the
cattle market from the open street. Improvements
were necessary and the Government had powers
to close street cattle markets, but owing to the war
and consequent restrictions permission for the new
buildings in North Street was not obtained until
1950 and then a loan of £34,997 was granted. A
further £1,566 was loaned in 1953 for a poultry
shed. (fn. 88)

Housing. Since 1918 the borrowing powers conferred by the various Housing Acts have made the
provision and maintenance of houses one of the chief
services. Town planning is, however, regulated by
the County Development Committee. About a third
of the town's houses are now council houses. Earlier
loans, as those for sewerage and water, have been repaid, but in the list of balances of loans since 1941,
outstanding on 31 March 1957, housing came easily
first. They were as follows: waterworks, £13,166;
sewerage, £5,561; markets, £28,616; allotments,
£594; and housing, £297,778. (fn. 89)

The council is also responsible for the town's
recreation grounds. In 1895 the trustees of the
recreation ground in Southern Road, which was held
on lease from the Hon. Francis Bertie, handed over
the ground to the council and in 1951 the council
accepted Elms Park as a gift from Mr. and Mrs.
Leonard Purser, to be maintained as a park and
recreation ground. (fn. 90)

The town has no powers of educational administration and is too small to adopt the Library Act of
1892, but the general district rate of 1s. 2d. in the £
in 1872 has risen to 26s. in the pound. (fn. 91)

Police. The election of petty constables by Courts
Leet was discontinued by Act of Parliament in 1842.
Instead they were appointed by special sessions of
justices from lists submitted by overseers in consultation with the vestry.

In 1852, in accordance with the Superintending
Constables Act 1850, Robert Hitchman of the Metropolitan Police was appointed Superintending Constable of the Bullingdon Petty Sessional Division and
as such superintended the petty constables at Thame.
He resided at Wheatley and provided his own horse
and light cart for conveying prisoners. He was also
Inspector of Weights and Measures. (fn. 92)

Since 1787 Thame had been without a lock-up, (fn. 93)
and after 1835 the refractory ward at the workhouse
had sometimes been used for detaining prisoners, but
the guardians forbade this in 1841. (fn. 94) However, in
1854 a police station was built at Thame on the
present site by Giles Holland, the local builder, at a
total cost of £654, shared equally by Oxfordshire and
Buckinghamshire. The Superintending Constable
was paid a salary of £10 a year with free residence
and freedom from taxes, the two counties again
sharing the cost. (fn. 95)

In 1857 Oxfordshire adopted the County Police
Act and Thame was included in the 'A' Division,
comprising Headquarters, Bullingdon, Henley, and
Watlington. (fn. 96) One piece of evidence given to the
Select Committee investigating the need for that Act
asserted that the Thame petty constables drove
vagrants over the border into Buckinghamshire to
get rid of them. (fn. 97)

Not until 1859, however, was it resolved that the
Chief Constable of Oxfordshire should arrange with
the Chief Constable of Buckinghamshire that the
keeper of the lock-up at Thame be superseded by
one of the Oxfordshire police. (fn. 98) In 1865 the Buckinghamshire moiety of the lock-up house or branch
police station at Thame was purchased by Oxfordshire for £200. In 1869 the establishment was one
sergeant and three men. In 1959 it was one inspector
and three men. (fn. 99)

After the County Court Act (1846) Thame became
the head of a County Court district. Sittings were
sometimes monthly, sometimes bi-monthly, being
held in the Spread Eagle Assembly room until 1861
when the present County Court was built. (fn. 100)

Thame has all along been in the Petty Sessional
Division of Bullingdon and today (1959) Petty
Sessions are held at the County Hall, Oxford on
alternate Thursdays and at Thame County Court on
the second and last Tuesday in every month. (fn. 101)

18. It was argued, for example, as late as 1733 that a will
was invalid as it had been proved in the archdeacon's court
which did not have jurisdiction in Thame: Oxf. Archd.
Oxon. c 164, f. 129. For the peculiar jurisdiction in general
see below, p. 201.